Newsroom

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Idaho Facility Enclosure Serves Mission to Ship Transuranic Waste to WIPP

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition recently began repackaging waste in the recently upgraded contamination enclosure within the Waste Management Facility-635 building at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP).

Transuranic waste, a byproduct of the nation’s nuclear defense program, consists of materials like clothing, rags, tools, gloves, debris and residue leftover from handling items with radioactive properties. These items are packaged and then secured inside solid, shielded vaults. The waste is then transported to the WIPP underground repository and emplaced in perpetuity.

At the INL Site, the metal-framed, soft-sided shelter is made of a heavy-duty, plastic-like canvas fabric called herculite. A reverse-flow ventilation system draws air from inside the enclosure toward HEPA filters, effectively containing contamination within the structure.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

A Purrfect Ending: Caring Crew Members Rescue Kittens Found at Idaho Jobsite

An employee with subcontractor Western Construction was checking the perimeter of the Idaho CERCLA Disposal Facility (ICDF) cell expansion project when he heard meowing and informed his supervisor, Rick Johns. CERCLA stands for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.

Upon further inspection, they found a litter of seven kittens inside a well drilling truck that had been brought to the construction site two days earlier. The kittens were without their mother, and appeared to be seven to 10 days old, as their eyes were not fully opened.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Crews Resume Liquid Waste Treatment in Idaho

To date, the facility has treated more than 80,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste that remains in underground waste tanks at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center.

Sodium-bearing waste is a byproduct of decontamination and rinse campaigns associated with historic spent nuclear fuel reprocessing runs at the center. The waste treatment facility uses a steam-reforming process to convert the liquid waste into a dry, granular solid, which is transferred to stainless steel canisters and placed in concrete vaults for onsite storage.

Sodium-bearing waste treatment is expected to take three to seven years to complete, accounting for outages to conduct regular maintenance on the facility.