North Wind, a member of the Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC), is busy working on projects at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, ID as part of the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP). The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) recently provided updates on some big projects underway at INL.
EM Set to Demolish Second Submarine Reactor Prototype in Idaho
The Submarine 5th Generation General Electric (S5G) prototype is a defueled land-based reactor vessel that is an important training ground for prospective U.S. Navy submariners. A ceremony commemorating the transfer of the defueled S5G prototype from Naval Reactors to DOE-EM was held on Oct. 30 at Naval Reactors Facility (NRF).
“IEC, has a well-trained and motivated workforce that has demonstrated huge progress in safely demolishing the first NRF submarine prototype, S1W,” Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Mark Brown said.
Idaho Reaches New Heights with Waste Shipments
The DOE-EM and IEC are celebrating an important accomplishment in transuranic waste shipping operations. IEC sent 365 transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 — the highest annual total for the Idaho Cleanup Project since fiscal year 2013, when the site sent 372 shipments to WIPP.
Cold War Landfill in Idaho Moves a Major Step Closer to Final Closure
Crews at INL recently completed the single largest demolition project in the cleanup project history, and three months ahead of schedule. In total, workers demolished more than 520,000 square feet of building space — about three times the footprint of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. — and checked off a 2024 priority for the DOE-EM.
