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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project is committed to meeting all technical and regulatory requirements to safely retrieve, characterize, treat and package transuranic waste for shipment out of Idaho to permanent disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

Loading and Shipping Loading the TRUPACT II containers for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (link) in New Mexico is a vital part of the waste preparation process. After characterizing the waste containers in the Characterization Facility, they are either sent to the Treatment Facility for processing or directly to one of the loading facilities. There are two AMWTP loading areas. In both of the loading facilities, the waste containers go through two major steps: payload assembly and TRUPACT II loading. Payload assembly includes categorizing the waste into four different groups consisting of 55-gallon drums or pucks (compacted drums). These four separate payloads are then individually loaded into the TRUPACT II containers for shipping. A TRUPACT II container is a special double-containment vessel that is approved for waste transport. After the payloads are placed in the TRUPACT II containers, the containers are put through various visual and mechanical inspections before they are certified for travel. Once a TRUPACT II is certified for travel, the waste is sent 1,300 miles to its final destination at WIPP.

Storage & Retrieval Characterization Treatment Facility Supercompactor Loading & Shipping

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To get more information about AMWTP's customer, visit the Department of Energy's homepage.

The Retrieval Enclosure, which houses 53,300 cubic meters of waste, is approximately the same length as an aircraft carrier, or equivalent to the size of four football fields.

The real-time radiography units used in the Characterization Facility to X-ray waste are powerful enough to see the filaments of a light bulb that is wrapped in coveralls, inside a plastic liner, inside a steel container.

Waste is transported to different areas of the Treatment Facility by an intricate system of conveyers and drum-handling robots so all waste handling is done remotely.

The three-story Supercompactor glovebox is one of the largest in the U.S. It was tested in Holland and then Nashville, Tennessee before being shipped to Idaho.

Waste shipped from AMWTP travels more than 1,300 miles to its final destination at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

Search for current career opportunities and submit a résumé to AMWTP Human Resources.

Find out about the AMWTP Procurement department and processes.

The real time radiography units used in the Characterization Facility to X-ray waste are powerful enough to see the filaments of a light bulb that is wrapped in coveralls, inside a plastic liner, inside a steel container.

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