Soil Sampling Progresses, Moving West Valley Closer to Completing Cleanup

West Valley Demonstration Project workers remove soil samples to assess contamination levels in the footprint for the former Main Plant Process Building site prior to completing cleanup there.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. — West Valley Demonstration Project workers have finished the second of three phases to drill holes for subsurface soil sampling in and around the former Main Plant Process Building site to assess contamination levels and inform safeguards before completing further cleanup there.

So far, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) and contractor West Valley Cleanup Alliance (WVCA) have drilled 46 holes to gather samples that provide critical data on contamination prior to remediating the soil and demolishing remaining components of the Main Plant at ground level and below ground.

The first two radiological characterization phases focused on soil around the Main Plant site; a third phase is now underway to drill 16 holes within the former facility’s footprint.

“West Valley continues to maintain the highest standards of safety and compliance when planning work,” said Stephen Bousquet, EM assistant director for West Valley’s Office of Project Management. “It is this strong preparation that ensures the work is carried out with exceptional discipline and care.”

The team screened each sample from the borings for radiation, and will safely ship them to an offsite laboratory for more specific isotopic analysis. Like a scientific fingerprint, isotopic analysis sheds light on a sample’s origin, composition and history.

The West Valley team will use such information to plan and design soil remediation within the former footprint of the Main Plant, which crews successfully removed last year. That five-story facility was the only commercial used nuclear fuel reprocessing facility to operate in the United States.

Crews last year also used a geotechnical boring machine to collect and evaluate soil, rock and groundwater samples for future planning and design work, including a retention wall to be constructed around the former Main Plant site. It will help stabilize the excavation area and prevent water infiltration, allowing crews to safely excavate the soil.

The team implemented lessons learned throughout the soil sampling project.

“Sharing information throughout the work scope helped to enhance safety and increased efficiency and productivity,” said Daniel Way, WVCA Decontamination and Decommissioning manager.

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere