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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
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Waste Storage and Retrieval
The vast majority of the waste AMWTP processes resulted from the manufacture of nuclear components at Colorado's Rocky Flats Plant. Shipped to Idaho in the '70s and early '80s for storage, the waste contains industrial debris such as rags, work clothing, machine parts and tools, as well as soil and sludge, and is contaminated with transuranic radioactive elements (primarily plutonium). Most of the waste is "mixed waste"--contaminated with radioactive and non-radioactive hazardous chemicals such as oil and solvents.
The Retrieval Enclosure houses approximately 53,300 cubic meters of waste stacked on asphalt pads under a soil berm, which is enclosed within a metal structure. The soil around the waste is removed by earth-moving equipment and a vacuum system minimizes airborne dust. The Retrieval Enclosure is roughly seven acres in area (approximately the same length as an aircraft carrier).
Five storage modules also hold approximately 12,000 cubic meters of waste stacked warehouse-style; each module measures 120 feet by 240 feet and together the storage modules hold approximately 11,700 cubic meters of waste. The waste in these modules is stored in drums and boxes and stacked on concrete pads, but is not covered with soil like the waste in the Retrieval Enclosure.
The waste is retrieved from the storage facilities, characterized and staged for further processing.
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