After some upkeep, IWTU back operating this week

May 27, 2023

After being down for a while last week for upkeep on a major component, a $1.4-billion facility to treat sodium-bearing waste at the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory is back in operation, an agency spokesperson said by email Monday.

The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) "continues to process 100% rad waste," the DOE spokesperson said.

"Waste processing was paused last week due to agglomeration build up in the Denitration Mineralization Reformer," the spokesperson said, using the formal name for the primary reaction vessel for converting liquid sodium-bearing waste into a more stable granular form.

The spokesperson did not elaborate on the agglomeration or buildup within the vessel, other than to say work crews made adjustments to minimize the problem.

"We fully anticipated the need to make further adjustments to the plant as we continue 100% sodium-bearing waste treatment," the DOE spokesperson said.

To date the facility has processed 18,385 gallons of sodium-bearing waste and 56 canisters have been filled, the DOE spokesperson said.

In development since 2007, the IWTU successfully started radioactive operations this spring in order to convert about 900,000 gallons of the liquid waste, left over from nuclear fuel reprocessing, into a stable granular form for disposal.

The project is overseen by DOE's Jacobs-led environmental contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition.