The Jacobs-led cleanup contractor the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory has lifted a self-imposed “stand down” order at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday.
The contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition, lifted the order March 31, the DOE spokesperson said in a Tuesday email. The spokesperson was responding to a Weapons Complex Morning Briefing inquiry about the order, which the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) disclosed in a staff report dated April 1.
A series of “procedural violations” led the operations management to issue the stand down direction on February 9, and it was effective through all of March at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP), according to the DNFSB staff report.
The move halted waste handling and related work while management considered if current work practices at the facility are adequate, according to DNFSB. Maintenance work resumed March 14 following additional employee training, according to the board report.
“In the event of lapses, we have steps in place to stop work and conduct corrective actions” when problems arise, said the DOE spokesperson.
About 250 people, including support staff, work at the AMWTP, which stopped the “super-compaction” of transuranic waste debris in 2019, the spokesperson said. The AMWTP facilities are still used for sludge drum repackaging and sizing, as well as repackaging, and compacting other waste types, the spokesperson said.
