Nuclear News & Updates

Just before the new year, there was quite the ribbon-cutting at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). At the event, the spinning teeth of a multi-ton mechanical mining machine clawed through the ceremonial ribbon and began cutting a new disposal panel out of a 250-million-year-old layer of salt beneath the New Mexico desert.

Crews with EM Richland Operations Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) recently completed construction of the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF), a key component of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program to treat the Hanford Site’s tank waste.

The Environmental Management Advisory Board (EMAB) recently welcomed eight new members who bring valuable perspectives and diverse experience to the board.

EM recently announced the selection of Laura Wilkerson as chief engineer for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and the reassignment of Erik Olds from EM’s communications director to OREM’s deputy manager.

EM crews at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site continue to transfer spent nuclear fuel baskets to second-generation storage vaults, providing safe long-term storage and reducing risk of corrosion.

EM crews in Oak Ridge have completed major deactivation efforts on a Manhattan Project-era facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex slated for demolition.