In the News

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.

Los Alamos reporter – DOE-EM, Los Alamos National Laboratory Preserve America’s Nuclear Knowledge Base

November 10, 2020 – A little-known team of experts at the Denver Federal Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is preserving America’s nuclear weapons research, a commitment that involves capturing, organizing, and digitizing decades of information.

Hundreds of boxes sit at the Denver center, filled with hard copies of data, reports, laboratory notebooks, welding procedures, and technical illustrations. The boxes came from all over the U.S. nuclear complex, including Rocky Flats, Mound, Pinellas, and other Department of Energy Environmental Management (EM) field sites after their successful closures. Link to article

EM Update – Crews Prep for Final Major Teardown at West Valley

November 17, 2020 – Crews prepared a large demolition excavator for the installation of a longreach arm as they readied for the future teardown of the last remaining major facility at the West Valley Demonstration Project, an EM 2020 priority. Built in the 1960s, the Main Plant Process Building was used as a commercial reprocessing facility to recover reusable plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear reactor fuel. Link to Update

DOE EM Update – EM, Los Alamos National Laboratory Preserve America’s Nuclear Knowledge Base

Hundreds of boxes sit at the Denver center, filled with hard copies of data, reports, laboratory notebooks, welding procedures, and technical illustrations. The boxes came from all over the U.S. nuclear complex, including Rocky Flats, Mound, Pinellas, and other EM field sites after their successful closures. Link to Update

Springville Journal –

November 5, 2020 – Crews recently demolished the acid recovery cell airlock and lift table at the West Valley Demonstration Project. The cell was used in reprocessing, where processed liquids, such as acid, were recovered and filtered for reuse.

This 100‐square‐foot structure was constructed in early 2009 to support asbestos‐containing material abatement, decommissioning and vessel removal from the cell. The airlock had a lift table that brought containers to the top of the acid recovery cell where waste containers were loaded and then lowered back down. A fork truck could then lift and remove the waste container out of the airlock. Link to article

DOE EM Update – West Valley Grouts Underground Cell in Advance of Major Demolition

November 3, 2020 – EM and cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) recently began grouting a large underground cell at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) to provide structural stability for when heavy demolition equipment operates aboveground to tear down the Main Plant Process Building.

The cell, which is nearly 30 feet below ground, will remain in place until the underground portion of the Main Plant Process Building is removed in the future. Crews continue to prepare the building for demolition. Link to update