WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) recently completed demolition of a former laundry facility.

   “This accomplishment allows the workforce to continue with the demolition of the remaining ancillary structures as the site’s 200-acre cleanup footprint and associated legacy risks are reduced,” EM WVDP Assistant Director Craig Rieman said.

   Workers tore down the nearly 1,500-square-foot concrete laundry facility after taking extra precautions to safely remove duct work in an area of the building used to clean contaminated clothes worn during reprocessing and cleanup operations.

   “The WVDP team continues its planned and deliberate demolition approach as they work towards the safe and compliant completion of cleanup work,” CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley President and General Manager Scott Anderson said.

Laundry operations at the facility ended in 2012 after they were outsourced as a cost-savings measure. Built in 1964, the structure was originally used for maintenance purposes. It became the laundry facility in the early 1970s.

   The building was the third WVDP facility workers have demolished in recent months that supported past vitrification operations. Four other ancillary structures await demolition.

   The team tore down two facilities used to repair and decontaminate equipment supporting the solidification of 600,000 gallons of high-level liquid radioactive waste at the site from 1996 to 2002. They also safely completed the demolition of the first vitrification facility built in the U.S.