Savannah River Site (SRS)

[illegalsmile]

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL57399020080125

A study claiming there are elevated levels of 'some kinds' of cancers among SRS Workers..

[Camella Black]

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL57399020080125

A study claiming there are elevated levels of 'some kinds' of cancers among SRS Workers..

Interesting article, I wonder why they focused on SRS and did not compare it to other DOE sites?

I know many, many people who work at the site and so far none have cancer although one has COPD.  I wish you could read the report but I have failed to find it online although I found zillions of reports.

[Mad Yogi]

My sisters Camella Blacks best cook in the world. If you know her or Henry then you have to know how well she cooks. I always new my Mother and Gradndmothers could cook along with my Dad,But she took what she learned from them and what a cook. What ever she cooks if you put it on your head your tongue would slap your brains out trying to get to it. Brad

Somehow I feel that Brad and Henry have had their lives blessed with good cooks! Hope that wasn't cheese grits on the head there Brad - might take a whole lota slapping to get that offa there. Um, can Camella make foreign food like crawfish gumbo with corn and potatoes?

[timgfrey]

Does anyone know what the job prospects look like at SRS for RP Tech?

[Camella Black]

Somehow I feel that Brad and Henry have had their lives blessed with good cooks! Hope that wasn't cheese grits on the head there Brad - might take a whole lota slapping to get that offa there. Um, can Camella make foreign food like crawfish gumbo with corn and potatoes?

I must this post some how, but to answer the question yes I can cook crawfish gumbo although I wouldn't call it foreign food as Brad and I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico. I also make a pretty mean pot of cheese grits and Cathead bisquits to boot!

[johnnieslingshot]

Job prospects may be coming up soon.  About 8 or 9  contract HP's put in for permanent positions and should be hearing soon if they will be hired.  Contact Sheila at ACTS INC. 803-652-8600 to see if they have any openings right now for "subs"  This place is not a bad place to work if you can put with not getting hardly any OT and the fact that ACTS ONLY pays you per-diem for 4 days, even if you get lucky enough to get some OT you will only be paid for 4 days.  They love to cheat the contractors.  But again, the site is a nice place to work.

[Carolina Jethro]

Job prospects may be coming up soon.  About 8 or 9  contract HP's put in for permanent positions and should be hearing soon if they will be hired.  Contact Sheila at ACTS INC. 803-652-8600 to see if they have any openings right now for "subs"  This place is not a bad place to work if you can put with not getting hardly any OT and the fact that ACTS ONLY pays you per-diem for 4 days, even if you get lucky enough to get some OT you will only be paid for 4 days.  They love to cheat the contractors.  But again, the site is a nice place to work.

 That makes it so easy to just say NO

[Lorrie Henson]

"K" to ya Jethro... I couldn't agree more!!

[RAD-GHOST]

Now that's funny!  Just say NO......to one of the highest pay rates in the DOE world and far above the commercial sector, (for Techs)!

They actually pay PD based on an hourly rate, about $13.00 and change. 

Guess what, it doesn't run out after 1 YEAR!  Taxable after 1 year, but still there.

I'm guessing theirs a whole lot of Techs making an overall compensation package of $42.00/hr out there?

Do the Math & Show me the Money......RG

[1way]

Worked at one of the Canyons there back in '98.  I don't know how it is today, but back then the testing process was one of the toughest I'd been through.  I knew techs that drove cross-country to work and bombed the test and were told to try again next year.  No re-takes til you get it right!  They take their rad con serious down there and do not hesitate to run people off (especially contractors) for bad performance.  I gave the site an above average vote because I liked my overall experience down there during my 1 year contract stint.  I was lucky enough to get in good with some of the "house" techs and things went all right.
As for the area, cost of living is one of the lowest I'd been around (1998).  Augusta Ga was the place to have fun (Broad St had some real eye openers).  Myrtle beach was a lot of fun.  Hilton Head was a little too upscale for me.  And if you are unlucky enough to try to find a decent hotel within 50 miles during "Masters" week, you can forget about it!

[namlive]

I talked with Jim Stafford today and...

DOE stimulus money is about here. SRS is gearing up for major D&D work as soon as the money is released. The purchase order is already approved. There will be about 75 openings for Rad Con Inspectors. This will increase to 120. Some will work D&D positions, others will back fill for house techs working D&D. Initial D&D hours are 4 12's and 5 10s. This will most likely increase. There will also be night shifts and shift work. Those who back fill spots (about 40-50 techs) will most likely work a 4-10s shift. ACTS and Bartlett are 2 companies I know will staff this work that will last for the next 30 months. Long term with OT, a contractor's dream. L and Q cleared people are needed and I would surmise will get priority.

SRS has partnered with Aiken Tech. Some stimulus money is being used to hire instructors and place students on a fast track to getting either a 29 hr certificate or 68 hour Associates degree (Rad Con), with transferable credits. 20 students from Aiken Tech will be hired May 18th for SRS this year and more should follow.

There is also discussion of allowing contractor techs to leave SRS during outage season to catch an outage (you 40 hour guys) and allow you
to return to your position. There is also talk about some 18.1 positions and contractor First Line Managers. Nothing is finalized and I will believe it when I see it.

Overall they expect to bring on about 3000 contruction workers.

[MrHazmat]

My buddy Jim, sounds like he is on track as always.
But it's like pulling teeth with DOE sometimes.

[johnnieslingshot]

For those of you who are thinking about coming to SRS here is the poop on the core test.
#1  they do not accept any other DOE sites core card!!!!
#2  you can re-take a failed core test the following week as long as you made 70 -79.  anything less and you have to wait for 6 months before you can try again, unless they have changed that in the recent years.  I  have been told that it may be a year wait now.

I have worked here on and off since 2000 and have taken the exam 5 times and never never made less than 92 - not bragging- just the facts.  they do have the tendency to ask questions about resolving time and dead time, and coversions from uSv to mRem, shielding, and 1/2 life activity formula.  So, in short, read the DOE study guide from cover to cover and you should do well. 

Be prepared to be nic-pic'd to death during RWll.  Especially during doffing.  I have known some very experienced techs who have failed RWll just because of the way they removed their anti-c's.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ACTS.  They cheat their techs left and right, up and down.  The worse sub-contract company to work for.

SRS does not care how you did things outside of here, they have their own way that they want you to do it... PERIOD!!!!!

be prepared to report for work early.  Somtimes it is a 15 minute wait to get into the gate, and once you get it, it is another 20 to 30 minutes to get to your job site.  it takes me 45 minutes to get to my job site from Aiken each morning MINIMUM!!!!

send me a note if you want to know more

[Camella Black]

For those of you who are thinking about coming to SRS here is the poop on the core test.
#1  they do not accept any other DOE sites core card!!!!
#2  you can re-take a failed core test the following week as long as you made 70 -79.  anything less and you have to wait for 6 months before you can try again, unless they have changed that in the recent years.  I  have been told that it may be a year wait now.

I have worked here on and off since 2000 and have taken the exam 5 times and never never made less than 92 - not bragging- just the facts.  they do have the tendency to ask questions about resolving time and dead time, and coversions from uSv to mRem, shielding, and 1/2 life activity formula.  So, in short, read the DOE study guide from cover to cover and you should do well. 

Be prepared to be nic-pic'd to death during RWll.  Especially during doffing.  I have known some very experienced techs who have failed RWll just because of the way they removed their anti-c's.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ACTS.  They cheat their techs left and right, up and down.  The worse sub-contract company to work for.

SRS does not care how you did things outside of here, they have their own way that they want you to do it... PERIOD!!!!!

be prepared to report for work early.  Somtimes it is a 15 minute wait to get into the gate, and once you get it, it is another 20 to 30 minutes to get to your job site.  it takes me 45 minutes to get to my job site from Aiken each morning MINIMUM!!!!

send me a note if you want to know more

Just curious, if you aren't going in with ACTS, then who are you signing with?

[Lorrie Henson]

NoramTec has submitted me for a couple positions.  Haven't heard back from them yet though.

[B.PRESGROVE]

I know ACTS is hiring, just recieved a call from them, also a company called southern recruiters is looking.  I know for a fact they are looking for house techs, my best friend out there said they are looking for about 50 to 70 house techs. 

[johnnieslingshot]

Bartlett is supposed to be gearing up to bring in techs also along with NORAMTEC.  You can take your chances with ACTS but two years ago they cheated me out of my end of contract "vacation" pay. If you can come in with one fo the other companies I would do so.  I think VAS is also going to be bringing in some techs too.

[RAD-GHOST]

Ahhh....Hummm...

You'll have to excuse my George Carlin perspective of word association, but....

NORAMTEC, probably wouldn't be my first choice as an employer based on my career field.

Q:  Who do you work for?

A:   I'm No Ram Tec!

RG......

[B.PRESGROVE]

LOL that was a good one.  No Im not going to go back out to SRS under any employer, had 7 years of that place as a house tech and just became fed up with the whole show out there.  I am working in the nuclear pharmacy buis now, and about to get a Cyclotron here to play with doing PET doses and research with the local medical college.

[namlive]

Things should be gearing up soon. This Friday (17th) the window will close for house techs to volunteer for D/D work. If they don't get who they want, they will force. They are also getting 2 more respirator fit machines with Bartletts to staff them, from my understanding. There is also talk of bussing the extra 3,000 contruction workers. I am not sure how that would work.
From what little I have seen of ACTS and their relationship to their employees, it would not be my first choice.

[namlive]

Eric might have a better idea what is going on, but it seems like SRS is not going to get anywhere near the number of techs it has hoped for. Right now there are rumors that personnel who were once RP techs may be forced back into becoming technicians again.

[Lorrie Henson]

Hey Camella and THANKS!  I've talked to a couple of companies, but VAS wasn't one of them.  I've supposedly been put in for several different positions ranging from procedure writer to HP.  Noramtec hasn't contacted me since the first conversation with them, and I won't call them back again, because they have a Canadian phone number and it costs me money on my cell to call them.  I was also talking to ACTS, but have heard nothing from them since my second conversation with them.  I was going to call them today.   I'll look up VAS and see what they have.

[Lorrie Henson]

Camella, I did look up VAS and remember submitting my resume for a position they have advertised.  I just called and the guy isn't in yet, so I left a message... I'll let you know what he says and if Henry can put in a good word, that would be GREAT!

Thanks again!!

Lorrie

[BetaAnt]

Word from SRS....

[[size=14pt]THREE YEARS SR. RADCON EXPERIENCE MEANS THREE YEARS MINIMUM. THIS IS NOT A TEACHING OPPORTUNITY [/size]

The word to most of the hired Sr. RadCon techs should be going out within a week. Good luck all

[qualityguy]

Does anyone know when they will be interviewing for these positions or if they have already begun?  I have noticed that many recruiting companies are posting ads for this position.  Does applying for more than one increase chances for getting my resume reviewed?  What company will the QA engineers ultimately work for?  Any additional info on this position would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.