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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.

AMWTP Sends 2000th Shipment To WIPP June 2, 2008 IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO (May 21, 2008)---When Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Shipper Lonney Nate signed-off on shipment #IN080178, in one sense he was sending just another shipment on its way to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, located near Carlsbad, New Mexico. That shipment, however, carried a more symbolic load, transporting the 2000th shipment of radioactive transuranic waste that Bechtel BWXT Idaho has sent safely and compliantly out of Idaho since May 1, 2005. AMWTP is managed and operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Bechtel BWXT Idaho. Since May 1, 2005, AMWTP has sent more radioactive waste to the WIPP site than any other project in the DOE Complex. To date, more than 41,800 containers have been safely shipped to the New Mexico site, representing more than one-third of the 65,000 cubic meters of stored transuranic waste that is required to be shipped out of the state. "Our employees are firmly committed to the safe, compliant and efficient operation of this facility," said Bechtel BWXT Idaho President and General Manager Jeff Mousseau. "With more than 6.5 million hours worked without a lost time injury, our employees are intent on bolstering this project's reputation for safety and the facility of choice in the DOE Complex for treating and shipping radioactive transuranic waste." Shipments leaving Idaho are a promise kept by the Department. Radioactive waste shipments have become a regular sight to travelers driving south on US Interstate 15. The steady flow of nuclear waste out of Idaho has also put the Department of Energy nearly two and-a-half years ahead of the pace defined by the Idaho Settlement Agreement. "AMWTP is turning out to be a genuine success story for the Department and demonstrates its commitment to clean up the Idaho site," said DOE Idaho Operations Deputy Manager Rick Provencher. "Given the significant progress made in the past three years, the Department is confident in meeting the completion milestone contained in the Settlement Agreement." The volume of waste permanently disposed in the underground salt caverns of WIPP is an area roughly the size of a football field and five stories high. Nearly 40 percent of all waste disposed in WIPP has come from AMWTP. Contact:     Rick Dale, Bechtel BWXT Idaho, 208-557-6552

May 21, 2008 AMWTP Sends 2000th Shipment To WIPP March 7, 2008 Idaho Site To Provide Waste Treatment For Other DOE Sites January 16, 2008 Bechtel BWXT Idaho is Recipient of Arts Support Award December 11, 2007 DOE Ships 20,000th Cubic Meter of Nuclear Waste Out Of Idaho November 7, 2007 Jeff Mousseau Named President and General Manager of Bechtel BWXT Idaho May 1, 2007 Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Employees Achieve Record-Setting Safety Performance August 14, 2006 Paul Divjak To Resume Leadership of Bechtel Operations In Idaho Succeeding Frank Russo February 23, 2006 Record amounts of transuranic waste leaving Idaho May 2, 2005 Bechtel BWXT Idaho Now Managing and Operating Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project 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

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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.

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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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