Crews Resume Liquid Waste Treatment in Idaho

To date, the facility has treated more than 80,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste that remains in underground waste tanks at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center.

Sodium-bearing waste is a byproduct of decontamination and rinse campaigns associated with historic spent nuclear fuel reprocessing runs at the center. The waste treatment facility uses a steam-reforming process to convert the liquid waste into a dry, granular solid, which is transferred to stainless steel canisters and placed in concrete vaults for onsite storage.

Sodium-bearing waste treatment is expected to take three to seven years to complete, accounting for outages to conduct regular maintenance on the facility.