January 19, A commercial facility in western New York known as the West Valley Demonstration Project reprocessed used nuclear fuel into usable nuclear material. It closed in 1976 but wastes remain and there are no facilities authorized to accept this waste.

In 1980, Congress directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to clean up part of the site. The site contained 600,000 gallons of liquid high‐level waste, radioactively contaminated structures and soils, and buried radioactive waste. In 2011, DOE began the first phase of its decommissioning plan, which included demolishing above‐ground structures and removing contaminated soils. Link to article

January 19, 2021 – It’s a new year, and EM and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) have created a new calendar to raise safety awareness among site workers and their families.

The Family Fun Safety Calendar features drawings by the children of WVDP employees depicting general safety practices. Link to Update

January 14, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project conducted a recent emergency response exercise with off-site emergency response agencies.

A virtual tabletop format was used instead of a hands-on exercise due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s exercise included representatives from Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department, Cattaraugus County Special Response Team and West Valley Volunteer Hose Fire and Rescue, with evaluation assistance from the Department of Energy-West Valley Demonstration Project. Link to article

January 14, 2021 – Workers at the West Valley Demonstration Project continue to move forward in their efforts to decommission the West Valley Nuclear Service Center and build on the success from last year. New projects and goals have been set for 2021 as crews continue work on the site.

In 2020, crews at the West Valley Demonstration Project completed projects to remove support structures, prepare facilities for demolition and improve infrastructure. Demolition of the main plant office building, utility room building and the acid recovery airlock was completed this past year, which brings the total number of buildings removed at the site to 68. Link to article

January 13, 2021 – EM workers provided feedback and lessons learned to help develop a new box to contain materials for disposal as they decontaminate the walls of a former reprocessing cell inside the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP).

“This is a good example of what can be accomplished when employees are engaged in the process,” said Todd Olson, facility disposition foreman with EM cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley. “Open communication allows for ideas to be shared and provides a sense of ownership, which helps to further improve safety, productivity, and efficiency.” 
Link to Update