Feds Clearing Old Explosives From Inel

For years, the U.S. Navy used a section of eastern Idaho desert for aerial bombing practice, naval artillery testing and storage and disposal of explosives.

Later, the land became part of the federal nuclear research installation, the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.

The government now is well into a $3 million project to locate and remove unexploded ordnance and potentially dangerous residue.

The time-critical removal action, where there is judged to be a threat to people or the environment, is to be done next year.

Parsons Engineering Science Inc., an INEL subcontractor, has hired Allied Technology Group to locate, detonate and clear material from a land mine fuse burn area. It’s east of the Test Reactor Area, where railroad cars were detonated with explosives.

So far, crews have found artillery shells ranging from 3 to 16 inches; partly exploded bombs from 125 pounds to 2,000 pounds; anti-tank mines, depth charges, smokeless powder and dummy bombs with spotting charges.

Crews have disposed of hundreds of unexploded ordnance devices and disposed of contaminated soil.

Material is being taken to the Mass Detonation Area, east of the Naval Reactors Facility at INEL. If the items are unsafe to move, they will be detonated in place.

All non-explosive scrap is being recycled.

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