Below are articles and other news published since the last West Valley Citizen Task Force Meeting. They relate to the West Valley Demonstration Project, nuclear waste cleanup or are otherwise relevant or of potential interest to stakeholders interested in the Project. After each Citizen Task Force Meeting, these articles are compiled into a single document and may be found with the meeting materials for that month.
August 29, 2018 – “Democratic congressional candidate Tracy Mitrano said Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Tom Reed hadn’t done enough to secure sufficient funding for the West Valley nuclear cleanup.
Federal and state governments have spent more than $2 billion on the cleanup so far. Mitrano, of Penn Yan, said studies show the cost for a full cleanup range from $6 billion to $12 billion.” Link to article
August 29, 2018 – “Tracy Mitrano, Democratic nominee for the New York 23rd Congressional District, shared details Tuesday of how she would tackle the issue of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center cleanup of low-level radioactive waste at West Valley in Cattaraugus County.
Mitrano asserted that the $75 million per year that is provided by a recently passed reauthorization bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee is “too little, too late” and that closer to $6 to $10 billion ultimately needs to be spent to ensure effective cleanup.” Link to article
August 28, 2018 – “Tracy Mitrano, Democratic nominee for the New York 23rd Congressional District, shared details Tuesday of how she would tackle the issue of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center cleanup of low-level radioactive waste at West Valley in Cattaraugus County.
Mitrano asserted that the $75 million per year that is provided by a recently passed reauthorization bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee is “too little, too late” and that closer to $6 to $10 billion ultimately needs to be spent to ensure effective cleanup.” Link to article
August 29, 2018 – “Phase 2 of the Vitrification Facility demolition at the West Valley Demonstration Project was recently completed by the contractor, CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, LLC.
“The CHBWV Team continues to perform well in the safe execution of this high hazard work evolution,” said WVDP Director Bryan Bower of the U.S. Department of Energy. “This accomplishment allows the workforce to continue with the demolition of the Vitrification Facility, another step forward in the ultimate closure of the site.”
Phase 2 began last November, and involved the demolition of the heavily reinforced concrete process cell and in-cell equipment. The Vitrification process cell contains higher levels of radiological contamination than the building exterior and aisle areas demolished in the first phase.” Link to article
August 21, 2018 – Crews successfully removed a steel penthouse structure from atop the Vitrification Facility earlier this month at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) site, moving EM closer to finishing demolition of the building.
“Planning and execution of this work evolution by the WVDP team went very well,” WVDP Director Bryan Bower said of EM and cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley. “They continue to make excellent progress on the Vitrification Facility demolition in a safe and compliant manner.” Link to Update
