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The Argonne-East employee picnic will be held Saturday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Argonne Park.
The picnic, sponsored by the Argonne Club and Argonne Credit Union, will feature music, hayrides, games, a dunk tank, a 30-foot climbing wall and other amusements.
Activities will be available for children, including a petting zoo and a castle maze. Snow-cones and cotton candy will be available. Sodexho Marriott will have food available for purchase.
Admission is free for Argonne, University of Chicago and U.S. Department of Energy employees.
Help wanted
Employees are needed to staff the booths and rides. For information, call Stan Reinke (ECT) at ext. 2-6957.
Volunteers will receive a T-shirt for their efforts.
Tickets for the Argonne Combined Appeal (ACA) annual raffle will be on sale daily during lunch in Argonne-East's Building 213 Cafeteria Monday, July 2, through Friday, July 13.
Tickets are 50 cents each or 12 for $5. Tickets will also be available from ACA steering committee members, ACA coordinators and at the Argonne-East employee picnic Saturday, July 14.
This year's prizes include tickets to Second City in Chicago, gift certificates to restaurants including Bohemian Garden and Traverso's, and passes to Tivoli Theatre performances.
Other prizes include gift certificates from Walgreen's and Sure Fire Auto Parts as well as a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.
The raffle drawing will be held at the July 14 picnic. Winners do not need to be present to win.
The raffle supports the ACA, which gives Argonne employees an opportunity to contribute to the Metropolitan Chicago United Way/Crusade of Mercy, United Way of Will County and many other agencies.
For more information on the combined appeal, or to locate steering committee members or coordinators, see the ACA home page.
The Argonne Pioneers will hold their 16th annual reunion dinner Sunday, Oct. 14, at the Orland Chateau Restaurant, 4500 LaGrange Road, Orland Park.
The Pioneers dinner is open to all current and former Met Lab, Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne Credit Union employees who worked in these organizations between 1942 and 1971. This includes all present employees with 30 or more years of service. Spouses and guests are welcome.
Cost for the reunion dinner is $22 per person, which includes tax and tip for the family-style dinner. Registration and friendship time will be from 2-4 p.m. There will be a cash bar and music for dancing.
Reservations must be made by Monday, Oct. 8; reservations cannot be accepted, and refunds cannot be made, after that date. Checks should be payable to Argonne Pioneers and sent to Argonne Pioneers Reunion, P.O. Box 8326, Argonne, IL 60439.
No tickets or receipts will be issued.
Addresses wanted
The Pioneers are seeking current addresses of all present and former employees who qualify as described above.
Send information to the address above, or call Evie Fagan (OPA-retired) at (630) 960-5563.
Some Argonne employees will soon receive a survey questionnaire in the mail, giving them an opportunity to help the laboratory improve its health care plans.
Employees participating in a medical plan will be selected at random and will receive a questionnaire at home. The J. D. Power 2001/ CareData survey is the most widely used by United States employers for assessing employee satisfaction with health-care plans.
The anonymous questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete, and a postage-paid return envelope is provided. All names and addresses will be kept confidential and will not be used for any other purpose than this survey.
"If selected, we ask that employees participate," said Leroy Gebhart (HR), manager of employee benefits. "This is their opportunity to express their feelings and concerns regarding their health care plans. Their participation will better enable Argonne to design its plan to best meet their needs."
Call Richard Rons (HR) at ext. 2-2993 for more information about the survey.
Aided by old laboratory records and the memories of current and retired Argonne employees, a team of Argonne industrial hygienists is examining locations in 14 Argonne-East buildings to determine if even minuscule amounts of beryllium dust are present.
Thus far the team has found no or very low levels -- far below any regulatory limits -- of beryllium in surface samples, according to the team's report.
In the few cases where low levels of beryllium have been found, usually in difficult-to-access places where dust has accumulated for years, the team also is taking air samples. They do not expect to find any airborne contamination. Air samples thus far support that expectation, the team said.
Once the sampling is completed, results and recommendations will be sent to divisions that occupy the areas being sampled. The 14 Argonne buildings containing areas being examined by the EQO Industrial Hygiene Group team are 200, 203, 205, 208, 212, 314, 315, 316, 330, 361, 363, 375, 391 and 401.
Machining beryllium can produce airborne dust, said Harvey Drucker, associate laboratory director and chair of the committee supervising the beryllium sampling. Airborne beryllium dust can trigger a serious disease in certain sensitive people.
Beryllium has not been machined at Argonne for more than 20 years.
Solid beryllium poses no such threat, he said.
Discovered in 1797 in Paris, pure beryllium is a hard, grayish metal found in compounds in mineral rocks, coal, soil, and volcanic dust. Beryllium and beryllium alloys are used or have been used in electronics, fiber optics, nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, aircraft-satellite-space vehicle structures, Xray transmission windows, mirrors, ceramics, bicycle frames, golf-club heads and as an additive in solid-propellant rocket fuels. Argonne uses it in crucibles, X-ray machine windows, and as a neutron reflector and in neutron beam filters.
Inhaling beryllium dust or particles can cause both beryllium sensitivity, where a person's immune system becomes allergic to the presence of beryllium in the body, and "chronic beryllium disease," an inflammatory and scarring lung condition that is often disabling and sometimes fatal. The disease often develops in individuals with beryllium sensitivity. Symptoms of the disease and disability from the disease may not appear for 10 years or more after exposure.
Medical surveillance
Argonne's 14-building beryllium search is one part of a DOE-wide effort called the Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program. Another part of that program is continuing medical surveillance through Argonne's Medical Department.
No current Argonne employee is known to be suffering from beryllium disease. Laboratory management is aware of 10 cases associated with former employees of Argonne or its predecessor organizations. All 10 first worked at the Metallurgical Lab's Site B in the 1940s and 1950s.
Under the beryllium disease program established by the U.S. Department of Energy, that agency is responsible for testing former Argonne employees, and the laboratory is responsible for testing current employees.
Current employees who are concerned about exposure to beryllium and have not completed a beryllium questionnaire may obtain one by calling ext. 2-2800, or by visiting the Medical Department. Employees who are uncertain whether they have a beryllium questionnaire on file should call the same number.
The Argonne Medical Department is offering current workers the opportunity to participate in a beryllium medical surveillance program, and has begun testing participants for sensitivity to beryllium. This program will be continuing, so that anyone concerned about dust exposure can discuss participation with a staff physician.
Federal compensation program
Another program, the Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program, is available to covered employees who suffer from beryllium sensitivity or chronic beryllium disease, as well as cancers caused by radiation, or chronic silicosis, as a result of occupational exposure. The U.S. Department of Labor, which is running this program, has a toll-free number (1-866-888-3322) that affected workers can call for information and to request claim forms.
"Covered employees or their survivors may be eligible for a lump sum payment of $150,000 for disability and payment of future medical expenses associated with their disease," said Mark Jones, Argonne general counsel.
"We are working closely with DOE to assist potential claimants, so that the filing and consideration of their claims can proceed as expeditiously as possible," Jones said.
Jones said he and Bill Luck, assistant general counsel (ext. 2-7300), are available to answer questions from interested parties regarding the compensation program, and ways in which the laboratory can assist in the claim process.
Those interested in learning more about the program and its benefits, and in getting additional information as it becomes available, also can call the DOE hotline set up for this purpose, 1-877-447-9756.
Argonne-East hosted an effort by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to coordinate a large emergency exercise June 13.
The exercise included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois Army National Guard, the DuPage County Bomb Squad and the Argonne Fire Department.
The exercise used Building 4 to stage a five-hour practice scenario on a hot, humid day.
"The scenario in this case was a clandestine lab making chemical warfare agents and booby-trapped with explosives and radioactive sources," said John F. Schneider (ES), Argonne's point of contact to the EPA for the exercise.
Before this exercise, Argonne had been training specialists at other sites to use a new sampling technique. The technique, called "solid phase microextraction" (SPME), was developed by Argonne through an interagency agreement with the Region 5 EPA Emergency Response Branch to analyze chemical warfare agents.
"We can do an analysis to determine if something is a nerve gas, mustard gas or other chemical warfare agent," said Schneider, the principle investigator for Argonne's analytical support to the EPA.
The SPME technique exposes a fiber to the air or water that contains the chemical in question. The fiber absorbs enough of the chemical for analysis.
The invited teams began the joint exercise at 10 a.m. Argonne's Fire Department entered Building 4 first to check for fire hazards. The DuPage County Bomb Squad followed with dogs to locate any would-be bombs. Next, the EPA and the Illinois Army National Guard (Civilian Support Team No. Five for Weapons of Mass Destruction) participants went into the building to characterize the hazards there. Finally, the FBI went inside to collect evidence, and then the EPA began its cleanup of the site.
If the scenario had been real, the EPA would have sent the microextraction samples to Argonne scientists to obtain a more thorough analysis of the chemicals collected.
-- Jeff Evans
The last chance for Argonne employees to take "Computer User Ergonomics" this summer will be Thursday, July 12, from 9:30-11:45 a.m. in Building 202, Room B169.
The course, ESH 583, covers identifying and avoiding ergonomic risk factors found in computer use. Videos and slides will show how to prevent computer-related musculoskeletal disorders like tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and eye and neck strain. Techniques that minimize these disorders will be presented in the course, including:
Selecting appropriate chairs, furniture and comfort devices
Recognizing an ergonomically configured computer work station
Stretching and flexibility exercises for the body and hands
The course is recommended for people who use computers four or more hours per day, whether at work or home. All computer users are welcome to attend and learn proper ergonomics.
Sign up through a Training Management System Representative. Call Carol Giles (ESH-SME) at ext. 2-3427 for course content questions or ergonomic consultations.
Representatives of the laboratory's retirement vendors will visit Argonne-East during July to meet individually with employees and answer questions about retirement plans or assets.
To schedule an appointment, call the number listed.
Fidelity: Tuesday, July 10 and 24. (800) 642-7131
TIAA-CREF: Thursday, July 19, and Friday July 20. (800) 842-2005
Prudential: Wednesday, July 11 and 18. (847) 619-3519.
A Social Security representative will be available to assist Argonne-East employees Wednesday, July 18, at Human Resources in Building 201.
From 8 a.m. to noon, the representative will:
Enroll employees in Social Security
Take applications for new Social Security
cards, including original cards for newborns, corrected
cards due to marriage and replacement cards
Help with earnings posting problems
Answer general questions about Social Security.
To schedule a meeting with the representative, call Fran Perri (HR) at ext. 2-2989.
Summer school begins soon at Electronics and Computing Technologies, which will offer seven computer software classes during July.
Detailed class descriptions, schedules and enrollment forms are available on ECT's Web site or under "Education and Training" on the Argonnet. For more information about enrollment procedures, contact Diane Cavazos (ECT) at ext. 2-7153 or dkcavazos @anl.gov.
Unless otherwise noted, classes will be held in Argonne-East's Building 221, Room A142, and are limited to 10 participants.
Proficiency with the Windows operating system is necessary.
Beginning Unix (ECT564) -- Two three-hour sessions for a total of
six hours. First session: Tuesday, July 3, 9 a.m. -
noon. Second session: Thursday, July 5, 9 a.m. - noon.
Cost: $265.
Introduction to Word 2000 (ECT369) -- Monday, July 16, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30
p.m. Cost: $215.
Introduction to Excel 2000 (ECT370) --
Tuesday, July 17, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Cost: $215.
Introduction to Access Version 2000 (ECT371)
-- Wednesday, July 18, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Class
size limited to eight. Cost: $215. Prerequisite: an
understanding of Windows.
Introduction to PowerPoint 2000 (ECT372) --
Thursday, July 19, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Class size
limited to 10. Cost: $140.
Intermediate PowerPoint 2000 (ECT373) --
Thursday, July 19, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Cost: $140.
Prerequisite: Introduction PowerPoint 2000.
Front Page 2000 (ECT383) -- This class is two full days: Thursday,
July 26, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and Friday, July 27, 8:30 a.m.
- 4:30 p.m. It will be repeated Thursday, Sept. 13,
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and Friday, Sept. 14, 8:30 a.m. -
4:30 p.m. Class size limited to eight. Cost: $430.
Prerequisites: proficiency with basic Windows environment
and mouse techniques, ability to work with graphic
elements in Windows software.