CWI Completes Sodium Treatment Ahead of Schedule
WC Monitor
7/3/2014
Contractor CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC, has completed ahead of schedule and under budget an effort to clean up 480 pounds bulk sodium in drums at the Materials and Fuels complex. Using new techniques that included detailed modeling and redesigned injection nozzles, CWI finished the project seven weeks early and about $1 million under budget, the contractor said. “The system, process, and procedures were much improved over previous treatments,” crew member Eric Garcia said in a CWI release. “We were able to shave seven weeks off our schedule using this reengineered, streamlined approach. Most importantly we did it safely.”
The treatment portion of the bulk sodium campaign had been expected to take 10 weeks but was completed in three weeks due to a new approach. “Such innovations also resulted in significant cost savings. The budget for just treatment was $1.6M based on previous treatment costs and the previous treatment schedule. This bulk sodium treatment project was completed for $0.2M,”CWI spokesman Erik Simpson said in a written response. “This unique, innovative process has the potential for treatment applications here at the DOE Idaho Site and across the complex.”
CWI’s Contamination and Demolition Program introduced the sodium into a tank and mixed it with an aqueous solution to treat it. The tank used in the process will be disposed of in an onsite landfill. The sodium had been a coolant for the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, which began operations in 1961. In earlier efforts, CWI had treated sodium with superheated steam and a citric acid solution.
