In Senate panel testimony, Jarrell cites liquid waste progress

The current head of the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management told a Senate Armed Services Committee panel this week progress is being made toward solidifying liquid radioactive waste left over from the Cold War and Manhattan Project.

Roger Jarrell II, DOE’s principal deputy assistant secretary for Environmental Management (EM) also told the Senate Armed Forces’ s subcommittee on Strategic Forces that DOE nuclear cleanup sites will help start “the next Manhattan Project.”  Plans are underway to use the sites as incubators for new reactor projects and data centers for artificial intelligence, he noted.

In his prepared comments, Jarrell said the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at Idaho National Laboratory has solidified 279,000 gallons of radioactive sodium-bearing waste into a granular form for storage and ultimate disposal. There is about 900,000 gallons of such waste at the laboratory.

In addition, Jarrell said 800,000 gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from underground tanks at the Hanford Site at the Hanford Site in Washington state has been treated to remove cesium. This is in preparation for starting to turn some of Hanford’s less-radioactive waste into a glass form starting in August. That’s when EM and Bechtel are set to start operation of the Direct Feed Low Activity Waste Facilities at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.

Jarrell, who worked with DOE and Environmental Management during President Donald Trump’s first administration, did not draw much attention from the senators. The lawmakers concentrated much of their focus on James McConnell, acting principal deputy administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

A link to the video for the hearing is available on the committee’s website.