Construction Begins On Treatment Plant

Wed., Aug. 23, 2000

From Staff

Construction is under way on a facility to prepare tons of plutonium-contaminated waste for shipment out of state.

Government officials gathered Monday to break ground for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

The U.S. Department of Energy hopes to complete construction by August 2002. By March 2003, the plant will begin treating waste. By 2018, managers hope 65,000 cubic meters of crushed waste will have left Idaho to a permanent dump in New Mexico.

“This is probably the most ties you will see at this site for the next several years. We’ve got a lot of work to do here,” said Bev Cook, the Energy Department’s Idaho operations manager.

“This is an opportunity to reduce the environmental risk, which is hugely important to us,” said Paul Miskimin, president of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., the contractor building the plant.

The project could mean 80 to 100 construction jobs by the end of this year. As construction continues, that number could rise to as many as 300.

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Construction Begins On Treatment Plant

Jesse Tinsley

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Molly Quinn

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