Idaho Shifts Focus to Other Reactor Vessels After Historic Navy Prototype D&D

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) has closed the first chapter of cleanup of three legacy nuclear propulsion prototypes at the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF) by completing deactivation and demolition (D&D) of the defueled Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse (S1W) — the historic Navy prototype that helped develop the first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus.

The site of the S1W now sits bare for the first time in nearly 75 years. Crews have worked diligently since May to size-reduce, recycle and remove debris from the S1W prototype’s footprint after ICP used explosive charges to bring down the prototype’s high bay building.

A major part of this effort involved cutting the remaining hull pieces and transporting them to the Idaho National Laboratory Site CERCLA disposal facility. Each piece weighed several hundred thousand pounds and took several weeks to cut using specialized saws and cutters. CERCLA stands for Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a law enacted by Congress in 1980. As a result of the CERCLA regulatory process, the disposal facility has stringent waste acceptance criteria.

With the S1W project complete, cleanup crews have turned their attention to D&D of the Aircraft Carrier 1st Generation Westinghouse (A1W) and Submarine 5th Generation General Electric (S5G) prototypes.

Workers have prepared for large-scale D&D at A1W by removing targeted hazardous materials like asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the prototype. They also removed ancillary buildings around A1W.

Deactivation progress at the S5G prototype continues since NRF turned the site over to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) in October 2024.

With D&D of S1W now in the past, ICP D&D Projects Operations Director Shawna Burtenshaw recognizes the benefit experience will provide as the team looks to tackle the difficult work ahead.

“Many of the challenges we will face moving forward will be similar to those we experienced by completing D&D at the S1W prototype,” said Burtenshaw. “Thanks to a talented and experienced crew, we are prepared to effectively meet these challenges.”

ICP has managed D&D of the three legacy nuclear propulsion prototypes since 2022 as a result of an agreement signed by EM and the U.S. Navy in 2019. These prototypes were constructed to support the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and provided training ground for prospective nuclear fleet operators.

ICP crews are scheduled to complete D&D of A1W and S5G over the next six years.

-Contributor: Carter Harrison