Teams Collaborate to Demolish Glovebox at Idaho National Laboratory Site

Before and after: Teams from the Idaho Environmental Coalition and Battelle Energy Alliance safely removed a contaminated glovebox, clearing space for future research at the Idaho National Laboratory.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A successful partnership at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site resulted in the safe and efficient deactivation, decommissioning and demolition of a glovebox at the Analytical Research Laboratories in the Materials and Fuels Complex.

INL is managed by Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), the prime contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). BEA partnered with the Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC), contractor for the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) Idaho Cleanup Project, to complete the challenging project safely and compliantly while staying on schedule and within budget.

“These efforts align with DOE’s mission to repurpose sites for the future, supporting economic growth and enabling advancements in American energy and scientific leadership,” ICP Manager Nick Balsmeier said. “As INL continues to lead in nuclear research and development, ICP will continue to support these efforts through waste management and used nuclear fuel storage. This collaboration between DOE-NE and DOE-EM provides a roadmap to address future cleanup challenges and revitalization efforts across the DOE complex.”

A glovebox is a sealed, stainless steel containment enclosure equipped with glove ports and windows, designed to protect personnel from radiological and chemical hazards when handling radioactive materials.

Due to the complexity of the glovebox and its associated contamination, the teams worked together to identify and mitigate potential hazards and developed a work plan that optimized BEA and IEC’s strengths as they took steps to deactivate and demolish the enclosure.

The success of this initiative demonstrates DOE’s commitment to protecting workers, the public and the environment as employees continue to remediate contaminated sites and reduce the government’s environmental liabilities.

Removal of the glovebox eliminates a long-term hazard and optimizes facility space for advanced research programs that will drive innovation in nuclear technology. This project also maximized value to taxpayers, while addressing significant environmental and operational challenges.

“This project highlights the strength of collaboration between IEC and BEA,” IEC Operations Director Jason Chapple said. “The IEC and BEA teams worked very closely together to ensure that the glovebox removal was completed safely. This successful partnership demonstrates how detailed planning, shared expertise and teamwork can achieve impactful results.”

-Contributors: Ryan Christensen, Jessica Vasseur