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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.

Bechtel BWXT Idaho Now Managing and Operating Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project May 2, 2005 This month Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC became the contractor of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP), located at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho site. In early February, DOE completed the purchase of the AMWTP from the United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry, the prime shareholder of BNFL Inc. which built the plant. Located near the Radioactive Waste Management Complex, AMWTP was built to prepare transuranic nuclear weapons waste for shipment and final disposal to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. Bechtel BWXT Idaho was responsible for the last major shipment of transuranic waste out of Idaho, the 3,100 cubic meter project. The 3,100 cubic meter project was a commitment in the court-ordered Idaho Settlement Agreement and was completed in October of 2002, some two months ahead of schedule. DOE has a milestone that requires retrieving and processing 6,000 cubic meters of transuranic nuclear weapons waste between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005 and shipping it out of Idaho. This milestone is part of a court ordered Settlement Agreement signed by DOE, the State of Idaho and the U.S. Navy in 1995. To date just over 600 cubic meters have been shipped from the AMWTP in accordance with the milestone. Frank Russo is leading Bechtel BWXT Idaho as president and general manager. "We are looking forward to joining the employees who have done an outstanding job bringing the AMWTP on-line and who have begun to ship waste," Russo said. "This is an important project for the DOE and Idaho. We intend to operate this exceptional facility to its full capacity." In 1996 DOE awarded BNFL Inc. a privatized, fixed price contract to design, build and operate the AMWTP. BNFL Inc. was the owner and operator of the AMWTP facility up to its sale to DOE. BNFL Inc. staffed the project to a workforce of approximately 600 workers. Under the BNFL contract, that workforce underwent a series of rigorous audits and received the required WIPP certifications to operate the facility and ship waste out of Idaho. Bechtel BWXT Idaho assumed management control and oversight of the project on Sunday, May 1. Contact:     Rick Dale, Bechtel BWXT Idaho, 208-557-6552

August 18, 2004 Facility Begins Treating Radioactive Waste March 11, 2004 BNFL Inc. Receives WIPP Certification April 2, 2003 BNFL Waste Shipments Begin March 28, 2003 Operations Begin at BNFL Waste Treatment Project August 21, 2000 Groundbreaking for Idaho Treatment Facility

	Copyright 2007, AMWTP - Bechtel BWXT Idaho,LLC. All rights reserved.

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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