Shutdown, startup put Tevatron back in business

Alignment crew members Randy Wyatt, Scott McCormick and Gary Crutche calibrate newly replaced Tevatron magnet during the 2009 shutdown.

The first particle collisions last week signaled that the Tevatron, the world's highest-energy proton-antiproton collider, is back in business.

After 11 weeks of maintenance, repairs, upgrades and testing, followed by a few weeks to bring equipment back on line and cool down, the Accelerator Division brought the Tevatron back into action. Collisions began last Wednesday and continue through today, gradually ramping up in luminosity.

"This proved that everything worked," said Bob Mau, Accelerator Division Operations Department head. "It was the best startup that we ever had."

During the course of the shutdown, which began June 14, crews of technicians, engineers, and physicists installed 32 Booster corrector magnets, warmed up and fixed leaks in nine Tevatron cryogenic houses, added infrastructure and buildings to house equipment for an upgrade to the Main Injector for future neutrino projects. They replaced six Tevatron magnets and completed many other tasks.

Although he hasn't compiled all of the statistics yet, John Anderson, Accelerator Division senior safety officer, said crews did an excellent job of getting their work done safely.

"We had a few injuries, but considering the length of the shutdown and the complicated work that we did, I think we did well," Anderson said. "We also did a lot of planning to keep radiation doses for all workers as low as reasonably achievable, and those doses came in on the initial estimate."

Although Fermilab has certainly had long shutdowns in the past, this one, involved more work than any previous shutdown. The Accelerator Division welcomed volunteers from other Fermilab sections and divisions and hired contractors to help.

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-- Rhianna Wisniewski

Flu shots available for high risk employees Oct. 1

Fermilab's Medical Office will offer flu shots for high risk employees on Thursday, Oct. 1, in the ES&H training room on Wilson Hall's ground floor, east side.

Employees are eligible to receive the flu vaccination for free if they are considered active, full-time, regular or term/temporary and fall into one of the following high risk categories:

• Age 65 or older.
• Have chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, asthma, other chronic disorders of the pulmonary or cardiovascular systems, diabetes, kidney disease, blood disorders or weakened immune system, including HIV/AIDS.
• Have had long-term steroid treatment or cancer treatment with radiation or drugs.
• In a position to transmit flu to those at high risk.

Contractors, family members of employees, visitors/experimenters, seasonal employees, dayworkers/on-call and retirees are not eligible to receive flu shots at Fermilab. Those individuals can check with their local pharmacies, health care providers or nursing associations for flu shot availability.

Women who are or may be pregnant must bring a doctor's note in order to get a flu shot.

To receive a flu shot, qualified employees must register ahead of time using online through the ES&H Web site or by calling the Medical Office at x3232.

Employees must present the signed consent form at the time of vaccination.

The Medical Office will schedule vaccinations for the general (non-high risk) Fermilab workforce pending shipment of vaccine.