Idaho Cleanup Project CAB

Dual Historic Naval Reactors Prototype Demolitions Highlight Idaho Expertise

"Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) crews are hard at work advancing decommissioning and demolition (D&D) on two Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program prototypes: the Submarine 5th Generation General Electric (S5G) and the Aircraft Carrier 1st Generation Westinghouse (A1W) prototypes."

Learn more: https://idahoenvironmental.com/Newsroom/

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management's Idaho Cleanup Project hosted an industry day for companies responding to a request for applications to build a commercial scale recycling plant at an EM facility at the Idaho National Laboratory.

America's nuclear renaissance is underway that will power our nation into the future!

SAVE THE DATE!
Idaho CAB to meet in Idaho Falls
The Idaho Cleanup Project Citizens Advisory Board will meet Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the Residence Inn in Idaho Falls for the board’s quarterly meeting.

More information will be provided in the coming weeks.

Idaho CAB to meet in Twin Falls

The Idaho Cleanup Project Citizens Advisory Board will meet Thursday, February 20, 2025, at the TownPlace Suites in Twin Falls for the board’s quarterly meeting.

The all-day meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will be available for in-person attendance at the TownPlace Suites, 175 Avenida Del Rio Dr, Twin Falls, or can be joined virtually via Zoom. If you would like to participate virtually, please contact ICP CAB Support Staff, Mariah Porter, [email protected], no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18 for meeting details.

Topics to be discussed during the meeting include:
Recent public outreach
ICP progress update
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site groundwater monitoring
End State Contract Ten-Year Plan update and 2024 Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR)
Budget update and CAB recommendation discussion
Expanded INL Site hunting boundary update

Public comment will also be accepted during the meeting at 10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. To sign up to offer comments, contact ICP CAB Support Staff, Mariah Porter, [email protected], no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 18.

Idaho Waste Treatment Facility Employs Successful Radiation Protection Program

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Since beginning radiological operations in April 2023, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) has run a successful radiation protection program to control contamination and minimize personnel exposures while the plant converts liquid radioactive waste to a safer granular solid.

IWTU began operations on April 11, 2023, treating 68,000 gallons of the 900,000 gallons of sodium-bearing waste from three nearby underground tanks during the next five months.

During a subsequent outage for maintenance, team members opened IWTU’s cells to replace filters and conduct inspections and repairs. They also designed and built mock-ups, tent enclosures and one-of-a-kind tools; maximized ventilation controls; and continually decontaminated areas to keep personnel exposures to a minimum and contain contamination within the cells themselves.

IWTU Nuclear Operations Senior Director Jimmy Spells said he was pleased with everyone’s preparation and ex*****on of work.

“Preplanning and worker input ensured that our radiological outage was executed safely and efficiently,” he said. “This is especially notable since this was also the first actual radiological work experience for much of the IWTU team.”

Bill Kirby, chief operating officer for ICP contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC), agreed.

“Exceptional planning with the involvement of radiological engineering, operations, work control, and system engineering really made the difference,” he said. “Our use of mock-ups and dry runs gave people the confidence that this challenging work could be done safely, and they delivered.”

Process gas filter bundle replacement was particularly challenging because of high radiation and contamination levels. During radiological operations, gases along with light particles generated in the Denitration Mineralization Reformer — IWTU’s primary reaction vessel – are drawn to the process gas filter, which filters out fine solids. The process gas filter consists of 18 bundles containing long, cylindrical ceramic filters.

“Personnel successfully replaced all 18 process gas filter bundles and kept exposure levels an order of magnitude below allowable U.S. Department of Energy annual limits,” said Radiation Protection, Safety, Health & Fire Protection Senior Manager Allen Nellesen.

Since resuming radiological operations in August last year, IWTU has operated reliably and has treated more than 160,000 gallons of sodium-bearing waste — more than 228,000 gallons overall.

“The IWTU radiation protection monitoring program is paramount to that successful waste treatment track record,” Nellesen said.

The program continuously tracks and trends dose rates and contamination levels throughout the facility, which allows the organization to react to changing conditions before regulatory limits are reached or issues arise.

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

Cutline -- Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) employee McKay Lowder uses a manipulator to take process samples following the treatment of sodium-bearing waste at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. IEC employee Alan Middleton, background, supports the effort

Crews Take Down Hot Cell, Prepare to Demolish Idaho Naval Reactors Prototype

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho —The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) and its contractor at the Idaho Cleanup Project have removed an important support structure of the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse (S1W) naval propulsion prototype as they prepare for the facility’s demolition.

EM contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) recently completed demolition of the S1W hot cell, the 7-foot-thick concrete structure where workers performed high-radiation work and materials inspections while the prototype operated at the Naval Reactors Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.

Due to the thickness of the hot cell, S1W deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) crews originally planned to deploy targeted explosive charges to delaminate the outer few feet of the concrete. Delamination is the process of separating materials like concrete by its layers, a common practice in the demolition industry used to weaken some materials that are otherwise difficult to manage.

Crews conducted inspections to remove contaminated materials from the hot cell and ensure the safe deployment of the explosives. This essential step protects the workforce and the environment from the potential spread of any contaminants during demolition while ensuring risks are reduced.

During the inspections, crews investigated if the concrete walls could be removed more simply using heavy equipment, such as excavators and hydraulic hammers, eliminating the need for explosive demolition.

This adjustment proved to be successful, as the excavators and hydraulic hammers broke the concrete into manageable pieces. Crews used a spray truck to soak the concrete and control the spread of dust during demolition, a measure protective of the workforce and environment.

IEC D&D and Capital Projects Senior Director Mike Swartz commended the crews for improving the demolition plan and successfully completing this phase of D&D at the S1W.

“Our workforce has rapidly advanced through each stage of demolition at the S1W because they have been able to adjust to the demands of the project,” said Swartz. “Their commitment to safety has not only allowed us to successfully perform the work at S1W, but to do it while remaining true to our priorities to protect our workforce, the public and the environment.”

In coming weeks, D&D crews will continue to prepare for demolition of the high bay facility housing the prototype.

D&D of the S1W protype facility is expected to be completed in November.

-Contributor: Carter Harrison

Photo cutline: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews at the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse carefully demolish the facility’s hot cell, an important support structure that aided the prototype during operation.

Collaboration, Communication Help Idaho Progress on Major Construction Project

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) crews at the Idaho Cleanup Project have benefited from collaboration, proper planning, and effective communication to advance toward completing a major construction project at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU).

Beginning in 2023, construction crews worked to build a second 20,000-square-foot concrete storage facility for liquid radioactive waste processed by IWTU, which surpassed an EM priority earlier this year.

Recent efforts have focused on laying large steel trusses on the partially constructed facility. Trusses provide structure for roofs, span long distances and transfer the weight of heavy loads to engineered supports in a building.

About 30 workers placed seven large steel trusses in five days. Each of those trusses weigh nearly 25,000 pounds and span 130 feet in length.

Kory Edelmayer, senior construction manager at IWTU, recognized the difficulty of the task but credited the crew and their planning efforts as contributors to success. The project applied lessons learned from the commercial industry to ensure safe emplacement of the trusses.

“Our crews are highly skilled and very experienced,” said Edelmayer. “The buildup and planning, including assembling the trusses and numbering them in an efficient sequence, was critical to moving through this phase quickly.”

While the crew’s planning efforts helped them complete the phase quicker than expected, Edelmayer recognized that collaboration from spent nuclear fuel crews at the neighboring Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center was invaluable.

“We were able to borrow a second crane, which helped us place and secure trusses,” said Edelmayer. “Without this second crane and the support from our colleagues, it may have taken twice as long to place and install the trusses and could have resulted in increased crane costs if the second, in-house crane was not available.”

Safety and effective communication are crucial to construction of the storage facility.

“This is one of the largest construction projects at the Idaho Cleanup Project over the last 20 years, second only to the IWTU construction, and I am amazed by the cooperation and teamwork of this crew,” Edelmayer said. “From our operators to our iron workers, everyone had a role to play and executed their job to the highest standard. Their commitment to safety and the mission allowed us to complete this phase of the project without incident.”

Once construction is complete, the second storage facility will house vaults full of stainless steel canisters containing sodium-bearing waste processed through the IWTU.

In coming months, workers will complete electrical work, construct a hot shop and a breezeway connection to the existing product storage building, and install the roof.

Idaho Environmental Coalition, EM’s contractor at the INL Site, expects to complete construction of the storage building in 2025.

-Contributor: Carter Harrison

Photo cutline: Crews move the first truss into position over the partially constructed storage building. Once completed, the building will store sodium-bearing waste processed by the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s Integrated Waste Treatment Unit.

Idaho Facility Continues Progress Treating Waste, Surpasses EM 2024 Priority

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Idaho Cleanup Project crews have achieved a significant priority set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) by treating 100,000 cumulative gallons of radioactive sodium-bearing tank waste at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) this year.

The team has already far surpassed that total in 2024, processing over 142,000 gallons of the waste as of this week. In all, the facility has treated more than 210,000 gallons since the start of operations in 2023, which represents about 23% of the total 900,000 gallons of liquid waste stored in three underground tanks at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.

“The completion of this EM priority is significant because it underpins our commitment to the state of Idaho and demonstrates our intent to protect the underlying Snake River Plain Aquifer,” said DOE Idaho Operations Office EM Manager Mark Brown.

EM published a list of 33 priorities in January 2024 to complete during the calendar year, including construction milestones, progress or completion of cleanup projects, reducing the EM footprint, awarding accelerated progress contracts, and driving innovation and improving performance.

EM cleanup contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) resumed IWTU radiological operations in late August, following the completion of maintenance. Steam-reforming technology is used to convert the radioactive liquid waste to a safer granular solid.

The liquid waste was generated during the decontamination of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing equipment and transfer lines during the Cold War.

IEC Program Manager Dan Coyne thanked his crews for reaching this milestone.

“Everyone from the operators, engineers, to support staff have been committed to this project from the beginning,” he said. “This benchmark represents the first of many to follow. Thank you.”

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

Cutline -- Integrated Waste Treatment Unit operators monitor radiological operations during the current waste treatment campaign at the facility at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.

The Department of Energy, in collaboration with the state of Idaho and Environmental Protection Agency, has proposed to expand the current hunting boundary at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site to mitigate offsite agricultural losses due to elk and pronghorn that reside on the Site. The boundary would be increased by 79.8 square miles on both the western and eastern portions of the INL Site, including 7.8 square miles designated as low-hazard institutional control (IC) areas for unexploded ordnance, which may be present following the INL Site’s past mission as a naval gunnery and test bomb range. To date, no ordnance has been found in these low-hazard IC areas.

The boundary changes, requested by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, will provide hunters greater access to elk and pronghorn herds that have been using the INL Site as a sanctuary when not feeding on adjacent standing and harvested crops.

The DOE will release an Explanation of Significant Differences document for a 30-day public comment period, beginning on November 22, 2024, and ending December 21, 2024. In addition to the proposed boundary changes, the document also lists proposed institutional controls that may be required to enter the proposed hunting expansion area including requirements to complete ordnance identification training, possess INL maps, and become familiar with boundary signs.

For more information, please visit: Home - Idaho Environmental Coalition

Home - Idaho Environmental Coalition In 2021, Idaho Environmental Coalition, LLC was selected by the DOE to manage cleanup operations at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site under a ten-year, $6.4 billion contract. IEC, a contractor formed by Jacobs, North Wind Portage, and our team of integrated small business subcontractors, Nava...