After receiving approval from the Energy Department, the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state is starting Phase 1 of the return to normal operations as concern over COVID-19 subsides.
The “safe and deliberate approach to the phased restart of operations” began Monday, a DOE spokesman said by email Wednesday. Decommissioning and demolition has largely been suspended this spring due to the pandemic.
Cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley suspended normal operations on March 23 under federal precautions to slow the potential spread of the novel coronavirus 2019. It has conducted only “mission-essential” tasks since then. This involved mostly regulatory compliance inspections and environmental monitoring, according to DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
Since then, contractors and federal workers at the state-owned West Valley Demonstration Project have either worked remotely or collected paid leave. Roughly 300 people are employed at West Valley. About 25% continued to work inside the fence since late March. This should increase to 40% by the end of Phase 1, which translates to roughly 120 people.
Like other nuclear remediation sites overseen by the Office of Environmental Management, West Valley is following the four-part framework for remobilization formally signed on June 4. It starts with planning during Phase 0, followed by initial callbacks in Phase 1 of workers doing either high-priority or low-risk jobs. More workers return to the jobsite during Phase 2. Barring a spike in local coronavirus infections, Phase 3 ends with on-site staffing levels roughly approximating pre-pandemic levels.
West Valley is situated on 200 acres within the 3,300-acre Western New York Nuclear Service Center in the town of Ashford. Nuclear Fuel Services operated a fuel reprocessing plant at the site between 1966 and 1972.
The remediation vendor team comprised of Jacobs and BWX Technologies is operating under an $836 million contract that started in August 2011 and runs through June 2023. The work involves environmental remediation, tearing down old facilities, and carrying away nuclear waste.
