Still Uncertain, Though, When Facility Will Begin Operation
Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
The Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit reached a significant milestone in its startup process last week, but it could be well into 2015 before the facility begins processing actual radioactive waste. On Dec. 2, a waste simulant was introduced into the IWTU in one of the last stages of the startup process. Once testing with the waste simulant is completed, the facility will enter into a planned cool-down and outage period, and DOE will seek permission from Idaho regulators to begin actual waste processing. “The testing is expected to take several months and will involve periods of startup and shut down cycles to train operators, resolve any process issues that arise as part of startup testing, address planned maintenance, and examine condition of specific plant equipment,” a DOE spokesperson said in a written response.
The DOE spokesperson went on to say, “We continue to communicate regularly with Idaho DEQ [Department of Environmental Quality] on the plant status. Dates for the beginning and completion of waste processing will be established with the State of Idaho after the simulant processing has been completed, which will better inform the expected duration for processing the waste.” CH2M-WG Idaho, the main cleanup contractor at DOE’s Idaho site and responsible for the IWTU, did not respond to a request for comment this week.
Equipment Issues Have Delayed Simulant Introduction
The IWTU is intended to treat approximately 900,000 gallons of liquid waste that remains at the Idaho site through a steam reforming process for disposal and to allow for closure of the site’s remaining waste tanks. DOE previously committed to the state of Idaho to have the waste processed by the end of 2012, but in the summer of that year, startup of the IWTU facility was significantly disrupted by what has been described as a “pressure event” that occurred when the facility’s filters became clogged with carbon material during efforts to get it up to its operating temperature. Since then, DOE and contractor CH2M-WG Idaho have been working at another attempt to start up the facility.
In the run-up to the introduction of simulant, the IWTU experienced several equipment issues this spring and summer that resulted in various outages. According to a DOE presentation given at a meeting last month of the Idaho Citizens Advisory Board, such equipment problems included issues with the hydrogen analyzer jet, which resulted in an outage from April 24 to June 2; plugging in waste feed nozzles, which resulted in an outage from Aug. 11 to Sept. 7; a solids leak in “upper packaging Cell 1,” which resulted in an outage from Sept. 16 to Sept. 27; and Off Gas Filter delta pressure issues, which resulted in an outage from Oct. 6 to Nov. 5.
After missing the initial commitment to complete all waste processing by the end of 2012, DOE has also missed a Sept. 30, 2014, commitment to the state of Idaho to begin waste processing, and it appears all but certain that the Department will miss a commitment to have all of the waste treated by the end of this year. In a written response last week, Robert Bullock of the IDEQ said, “At this point in time, the IDEQ is carefully considering its options to address schedules, consequences and actions that will be necessary as DOE and its contractor continue working toward treatment of waste in the IWTU.”
