Walsh Visits Idaho Cleanup Project, Highlights EM Support to Nuclear Mission

Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh tours used nuclear fuel storage facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory Site, including the Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility, pictured, where crews will retrieve and package fuel for its eventual shipment offsite.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management (EM) Tim Walsh and his leadership team visited the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) last week, emphasizing ICP’s critical role in advancing both cleanup and nuclear missions at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site and across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex.

Their visit underscored the connected efforts protecting people and the environment while driving cutting-edge nuclear research and development to fuel America’s energy future.

“My visit to Idaho reaffirmed the efficiency, innovation and technical expertise demonstrated by the ICP team,” said Walsh. “Their commitment to safe, effective cleanup operations not only allows DOE to fulfill our obligations to Idaho but also creates new opportunities for the Idaho National Laboratory to lead the way in nuclear energy research and development that will power America’s future.”

Walsh toured several prominent cleanup facilities, including the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), and Naval Reactors Facility (NRF) decommissioning and demolition (D&D) areas. The tour also stopped at the INL’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and NRF’s operating areas.

Each stop on the tour highlighted the workforce’s ability to effectively and efficiently tackle cleanup challenges while meeting obligations to the state of Idaho, ensure safe long-term management of complex waste streams, protect the Snake River Plain Aquifer and transform cleanup sites for the future.

At the INL Site, successfully meeting cleanup milestones established by the state of Idaho is directly tied to new research opportunities at the INL, the nation’s premiere nuclear laboratory.

Notably, beginning and sustaining liquid waste treatment operations at the IWTU allowed INL to receive research quantities of fuel for the first time in decades. Those IWTU operations satisfied conditions of the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement, a legal cleanup framework that restricted used nuclear fuel (UNF) shipments to the state. Since 2023, the IWTU has treated nearly 400,000 gallons of liquid waste stored on the INL Site, reducing risk to the environment and meeting commitments to the state.

INTEC crews receive and store UNF, including ATR and other fuels approved in a 2025 waiver to the agreement to support the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. Storing and managing UNF ensures critical operational space is available for research activities at ATR, as well as continued research and development at MFC and university research reactors across the country.

At NRF, ICP D&D crews are safely and effectively demolishing three legacy Navy nuclear propulsion prototypes ahead of schedule and under budget. Removing the prototypes reduces environmental liabilities and creates space for future opportunities at NRF.

The ICP team at RWMC recently processed and shipped a glovebox from Los Alamos National Laboratory to the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), demonstrating ICP’s technical expertise and ability to drive operational efficiencies across the DOE complex. A glovebox is an enclosure designed to protect personnel from hazards when handling radioactive materials.

-Contributor: Carter Harrison