The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has launched the demolition of a facility used in historic nuclear fuel reprocessing operations at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP).
The WVDP site is an approximate 150-acre area located 35 miles south of Buffalo, New York. It is owned by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and hosts the only commercial used nuclear fuel reprocessing facility to operate in the US. The facility operated from 1963 to 1972 processing 640 tonnes of used fuel and generating more than 600,000 gallons of liquid high-level waste. In 1980, Congress passed the WVDP Act, which required DOE to conduct a high-level waste management demonstration project at the site and transport it to a federal repository for disposal.
Crews are now preparing for the teardown of the nearly 9,000-square-foot Fuel Receiving & Storage Facility over the past year by isolating utilities, removing hazardous materials and other tasks. The project comes one year after workers safely completed the largest, most complex demolition of a radioactively contaminated facility at the site – the 35,100-square-foot Main Plant Process Building.
The Fuel Receiving & Storage Facility received and stored used nuclear fuel for reprocessing. Inside the facility is a 100-tonne crane that hoisted and lowered used fuel casks into a storage pool. In 2001, crews removed all fuel assemblies from the pool and processed the water.
Crews began the demolition by removing the facility’s metal exterior. They loaded the debris into intermodal containers for shipment offsite by rail for safe disposal. They will remove the crane before demolishing the remaining structure.
“Planning and preparation are crucial to ensuring a safe, compliant demolition,” West Valley Project Management Assistant Director Stephen Bousquet said. “It is important that our team doesn’t rush any step of the process, so we don’t risk our safety values in any way.”
EM implemented a variety of safety measures to protect workers and the environment throughout the removal process. Machines continuously spray water to help eliminate dust and the spread of any potential contamination. Barriers and signs help ensure only authorized personnel are on the worksite. Radiation control technicians monitor the work area, including continuous air monitors that detect radioactive activity.
“Our employees have worked hard to reach this point,” said Jason Casper, President & Program Manager for EM contractor West Valley Cleanup Alliance. “It is exciting to see the workforce approaching another cleanup milestone.”
