EM Completes Spent Nuclear Fuel Project, Improving Safety at Idaho Facility

Project was final endeavor for team member who worked at Idaho Site for 40 years before retiring

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) crews recently completed a significant achievement by successfully transferring 40 spent nuclear fuel baskets into safer, long term storage vaults.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) finished the final transfer — moving spent nuclear fuel from older, first-generation vaults to new, second-generation vaults — several months ahead of schedule.

Former IEC Senior Project Director Ken Brewer, who retired late last month, attributed this achievement to the project’s highly skilled and experienced workforce. He also noted the team’s ability to work efficiently and at a well-managed pace, helping ensure worker safety.

“I am incredibly proud of our team for completing this project. Their professionalism, technical skill and relentless commitment to safety made all the difference,” Brewer said. “By completing these transfers, they have fulfilled a vital commitment to the DOE and add to a legacy of stewardship that Idahoans can be proud of.”

The baskets contain spent nuclear fuel from the Peach Bottom Atomic Station, Unit 1, which was shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory Site from Pennsylvania following the station’s closure in 1974.

The Peach Bottom transfer project was Brewer’s final endeavor at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). He worked there for 40 years before retiring and was involved in the Peach Bottom transfer project from its inception.

“The completion of this project continues to demonstrate the Department’s commitment to the state of Idaho and our ability to be a leader in President Trump and Secretary Wright’s mission to reinvigorate the nuclear industrial base,” ICP acting Manager Nicholas Balsmeier said. “Mr. Brewer completed his career at INTEC, leaving behind a culture focused on safety and progress that will continue well beyond his retirement.”

EM initiated the transfers in 2021 after routine monitoring of the fuel revealed elevated hydrogen levels in the first-generation vaults, raising concerns about potential corrosion to the fuel baskets.

The second-generation vaults mitigate that risk through engineered improvements, including sumps that purge water and a support rod-and-plate system that reinforces the fuel baskets. The result is a more stable and controlled long term storage configuration that enhances safety.

The Peach Bottom fuel will remain in dry storage until it is packaged and shipped from Idaho for permanent disposal.

-Contributor: Carter Harrison