West Valley Demolishes Inactive Ventilation System Structures, Components

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – Crews recently demolished two Waste Tank Farm condenser structures and an equipment shelter at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP). These structures were associated with the Main Plant Process Building’s former ventilation system, which was taken out of service in 2001. This recent demolition brings EM’s total number of structures removed at the site to 64.

WVDP personnel removed, size-reduced, and packaged the two condenser structures for off-site disposal. Each condenser contained two heat exchangers that cooled the off-gas and condensed the vapor. Each 360-square-foot structure was constructed in 1966 to remove water vapor from the tank off-gas ventilation system and was further treated and filtered before being directed to the Main Plant Process Building stack.

The Waste Tank Farm Shelter is a 779-square-foot concrete block building, which consists of a shielded side where the former air filtration equipment was located, and an operating aisle that houses fans and control systems. This ventilation system was replaced with a newer and more efficient system

EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower commended the team for its work.

“The completion of this work changes the landscape and footprint of the WVDP site, and is a reminder of the ongoing progress here,” Bower said.

Scott Anderson, president of CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV), EM’s WVDP cleanup contractor, said his employees used their combined knowledge and lessons learned to safely complete this work.

“The CHBWV team continues to make great progress towards the demolition of these historically significant facilities at West Valley with the completion of the Utility Room Extension," Anderson said. "Our team continues to complete demolition work at the site in a safe and environmentally-sound manner.”