A $1.4-billion facility to convert sodium-bearing waste into a solid granular form at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is now running with 100% radioactive waste, the head of the $8-billion nuclear cleanup office said Monday.
The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Lab is now “at 100% waste feed,” William (Ike) White, senior adviser for the DOE Office of Environmental Management, told the Environmental Management Advisory Board during an online meeting.
To date, the IWTU has converted more than 14,700 gallons of sodium-bearing radioactive tank waste to a more stable, granular solid, DOE Environmental Management said in a news release shortly after White’s comments. “Crews have filled 47 stainless-steel canisters with waste and safely stored them in the IWTU’s concrete storage vaults,” according to the release.
The steam reforming technology plant started radiological operations in April, beginning with a blend of 10% waste and 90% simulant. Earlier this month, the facility increased to 50% radwaste.
Next month DOE and Jacobs-led Idaho Environmental Coalition will carry out testing to show compliance with the facility’s permit. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality will have representatives onsite during the upcoming performance test, DOE said.
DOE and a CH2M-led cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory started construction in 2007 on the plant to treat 900,000 gallons of liquid waste left over from nuclear fuel reprocessing. Although initial construction was finished in 2012, the plant never worked as planned. First Fluor Idaho and later the Jacobs-led team overhauled and eventually tested the facility between 2012 and 2023.
