Demo finished for Navy reactor prototype in Idaho

The Department of Energy’s nuclear remediation office announced this week that demolition is complete for the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse (S1W) naval reactor prototype plant at the Idaho National Laboratory.

In a Tuesday announcement, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and Jacobs-led contract Idaho Environmental Coalition finished taking down the structure at the Naval Reactors Facility at the DOE lab.

The cleanup project began in 2022. Earlier this year, workers removed the defueled reactor vessel and moved it to an onsite disposal facility.

The S1W plant prototype supported development of the USS Nautilus, DOE said. In 1955, the Nautilus became the world’s first operational nuclear submarine. With the building torn down, crews now turn their attention to removing debris, DOE said.