EM is set to complete the 69th building demolition at the West Valley Demonstration Project early next year when crews finish knocking down the last structure standing that supported operations at the former Main Plant Process Building.
Office of Environmental Management
December 7, 2021
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WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM is set to complete the 69th building demolition at the West Valley Demonstration Project early next year when crews finish knocking down the last structure standing that supported operations at the former Main Plant Process Building.
“The work of our team of dedicated employees continues to change the landscape and footprint around the Main Plant Process Building,” said Stephen Bousquet, EM’s deputy federal project director for the Main Plant demolition. “I continue to be impressed by the accomplishments of our team as we move forward to the demolition of the Main Plant.”
The 4,500-square-foot, two-level building, which had been used for several purposes over the years, is no longer needed for EM’s cleanup. It is set to join the list of Main Plant ancillary structures already torn down, helping shrink the site’s cleanup footprint. Those six support structures were used for everything from reducing the size of waste for disposal to providing space for offices, utilities, and laundry services.
Known as the Load-In Facility, the latest ancillary structure being demolished was first used to store and inspect empty stainless steel canisters before they were filled with high-level liquid waste that had been solidified into glass through a process known as vitrification.
The building was later used to support the relocation of the canisters from the Main Plant to an onsite storage area. Those canisters are scheduled to remain there until they can be disposed in an approved facility.
The Load-In Facility had also served as a location to stage equipment for the decontamination and demolition of the site’s Vitrification Facility, whose take-down in 2018 represents the largest and most complex demolition of a radioactively contaminated facility at the site to date. The Main Plant demolition would take over that record.
John Rendall, president of CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV), EM’s cleanup contractor at West Valley, said employees used their combined knowledge and lessons learned to safely plan and begin the Load-In Facility demolition.
“The CHBWV team continues to make great progress towards the demolition of these historically significant facilities at West Valley,” Rendall said. “Our team continues to complete demolition work at the site in a safe and environmentally sound manner.”
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